Arrows, Swords and a Little Bit of Magic ( Rated M )

Dead land and Happy Mates

Twitter -  @/WhiteSmoke_meow   (remove the backslash )

When Seokjin woke up on the day of Jungkook's wedding, he did not, in the least, expect the events of the day to unfold the way they did.

The kingdom had always been on the more peaceful side; Seokjin's mother, the late Queen, had never liked the wars and bloodshed and the King had always valued the opinions of his mate, so by extension, that dislike for war was always reflected in the various decisions taken up by the King. Even on the verge of a war breaking out, the King would always find one way or another to settle the disputes without violence. Sometimes, it would involve surrendering some of their kingdom's territory as a peace offering to the antagonistic party which would cause the council to judge the King, often calling His Majesty a pushover behind his back. The King had never cared though, as long as his family and citizens were content – to him, the happiness of the people has always mattered more than the opinions of a handful of old men on the council who only craved personal gain.

There have always been small battles and skirmishes, especially with the Royals of the Fey Land and the wolves of the Yellow Kingdom. There had never been a situation in which the Kingdom's existence had been threatened, though. Hence, it had never even crossed the Crown Prince's mind that he could lose his father so early on in his life, considering that the King has always been in good health too.

Having his father die right before his eyes, ending up becoming separated from Jungkook – his only living family - and being ousted from his own home wasn't how Seokjin imagined his life would turn out.

Something else the prince had never considered was the fact that in the days that followed, the only person he could rely on would be someone he could barely stand being in the same space with. He would have also never been able to anticipate that he would actually find himself sympathizing with the alpha or that their wolves would be so compatible with each other.

But the most difficult thing to imagine happening would be the occurrence of their current predicament.

Namjoon's alpha had officially recognized Seokjin's omega as its mate.

The prince had known for a while now – the extreme compatibility between their wolves, all starting with his reaction to Namjoon's comforting real scent that seemed to constantly put Seokjin's omega on edge, especially since after Namjoon's rut, when the pungent scent of seaweed disappeared completely, giving way to the alpha's true scent. Seokjin had been perplexed at first but then he had time to think during the extent of the rut. It was extremely rare, but not unheard of – there were special brews that worked much like the prince's own suppressors, but instead of waning a shifter's scent, their purpose was to modify it. To the extent of the prince's knowledge, Namjoon's court assignments often included missions where stealth was of high importance and Seokjin's seen the vials the alpha carried around. It was the most logical conclusion, therefore, that Namjoon had been using scent modifiers.

However, compatibility itself would never be the sole factor when considering a mate. It was just the first step in the process – compatibility between wolves, compatibility of scents, feelings and emotions, courting and only then mating.

For a wolf to accept another as its mate, at least the first three would have to be fulfilled. And this was what confused Seokjin, because, since when did they have positive feelings between them, much less something with a semblance to romantic ones? Sure, the prince was coming to understand the origins of the alpha's attitude better but he's always been of the opinion that Namjoon, if not hated, then at least strongly disliked him.

The prince tried to focus on the alpha crouched before him, his hand still placed gently over Seokjin's cheek as his eyes wandered over the younger's features. Was he even aware of what was happening?